Editor's Corner

Good morning! I apologize to anyone who got an accidental Tweet today; unfortunately, it contained nothing of value.

Today we return to the peeves from last week. I’ve covered this one before, but it is still one of the most frequently requested topics. These definitions (and the tips) are from Grammar Girl. I’ve edited the article down quite a bit, so if you want to read the entire piece, it’s at: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/assure-ensure-insure.aspx.

· Assureis something you do to a person, a group of people, or an animal to remove doubt or anxiety. You can remember that assure can only be used with things that are alive (and both assure and alive start with a). Only things that are alive can feel doubt or anxiety, so only they can be assured.

· Ensureis something you do to guarantee an event or condition. You can remember that guarantee has those two e‘s on the end to help you remember that to ensure (with an e) is to guarantee something.

· Insurecan be done to a person, place, or thing, but it’s reserved for limiting financial liability, most commonly by obtaining an insurance policy. You can remember that we take out insurance to protect our income if we become unemployed, disabled, or injured in an accident. Both insure and income begin with in.

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor